The Girl with the Golden Locks
by rocketstar
Summary: When Goldilocks went to the house of the bears what did her blue eyes see? Nothing as it was the bears who came to her house and destroyed everything she once knew and killed the ones she loved. Goldilocks' story with the three bears was much more complicated, bloody and gruesome than the books made it out to be, even in Storybooke as the three bears happened to be her family...
1. Chapter 1

_"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Goldilocks, happy birthday to you."_

_A smile couldn't help but grace the face of Cressida as she looked around the room and saw the faces of her loved ones, all gathered together to celebrate this joyous occasion with her. Princess Cressida, more commonly known as Goldilocks because of her long gold of sunshine hair - couldn't help but feel like the luckiest girl in the world as she celebrated her twenty first birthday with those who mattered most to her. The celebrations of today had been more than enough but that wasn't even the start of it all as a huge ball was going to be thrown for the entire queendom, to come and celebrate the birthday of their future queen. Looking at the spectacular four tiered cake made especially for today, Cressida was struggling to figure out what to wish for as she already everything she could have ever wanted and more. Her parents Queen Everly and King Caiden were the best parents she could have ever asked for, so attentive and loving. They were Cressida's unreachable idols in many ways. Alongside her parents there were her friends, the people who she had grown up with and could always count on. Along with them there was also her tutor Archibald, a man wiser than all of them put together perhaps the oldest one of them all at 107 years. This day couldn't be anymore perfect with the beautifully decorated music room that had been covered with balloons, streamers and other wonderful decorations. There were gifts everywhere but all that really mattered to Cressida was that the people she loved were here. Restoring her gaze back to the cake Cressida, closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she blew out all twenty-one candles to the sound of a roaring applause._

_"What did you wish for Goldie?" Caiden, Cressida's father asked with his bright blue eyes glistening in curiosity and Cressida couldn't help but laugh as her father was the most curious person she ever met. Curious as a kitten, always asking a million questions as her mother would say. Always wanting to know everything, could never keep his nose out of other people's business which meant that he was terrible at keeping secrets._

_"I can't tell you that otherwise it won't come true papa, you know that..." Cressida teased which caused everyone in the room to laugh, she wasn't going to tell anyone that she wished nothing would change. That her life would stay exactly the same._

_"Forgive your father, the older he seems to get the more he seems to become even more silly." Everly quipped as she walked over to her only child and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Happy birthday my darling Goldie, may the stars rain down and grant you all your wishes along with a happy and joyful life."_

_"What a wonderful day for the entire queendom I must say and now that dear sweet Goldie is now twenty-one, the princess is now old enough to take part in the maze of wonders, a test for all those who would be queen and naturally with my tutorage she will pass just like you did Everly, along with your mother and her mother before..." Archibald Whittiker, an elderly scholar who was at least over a hundred with only one good eye and yet able to see everything said in a bemused manner as he referred to the test that Cressida would soon be forced to take. The maze of wonders like Archibald had stated was a test taken at the age of 21 that was to be taken for every would be queen, to test her abilities and powers to determine whether she was fit to rule. No future queen had not taken the test and once the maze had been successfully navigated, the formal training to become queen would begin. Cressida's mother Everly had taken the maze as well as her grandmother Issa. Cressida didn't know much about the maze, all she knew was that no maze was the same and it would be the most difficult thing she would endure. No would be queen tutored by Archibald Whittiker had ever failed the maze of wonders. Except one. Helena._

_"Of course Archibald but we shall leave all remaining talk of Goldie taking the maze until at least tomorrow as today we are celebrating the princess' birthday!" Everly gently scolded with a small smile._

_"Yes, your majesty." _

_Moving away from the cake, Cressida moved around the room and began socialising with her guests as her mother always told her that along with introductions, being polite and courteous were the first steps to becoming a proper lady and a queen someday. Cressida knew that her mother was raising her to follow in her footsteps, a task in which she would not let her daughter fail in. As long as Cressida could remember, her mother was adamant that she would become a firm but fair ruler who would govern over the queendom in benevolent manner and not abuse the powers that she had been given. Not like her Aunt Helena. She was the black sheep of the family, removed from the line of succession because of her increasing abuse of her magic and unwillingness to put others before herself. Cressida had never met her Aunt Helena, her mother's older sister, all she really knew that her aunt, along with her husband Bernard and son Orsen had been banished from the queendom about twenty three years ago after a very bloody civil war. All Cressida really knew was that the three of them were nicknamed the three bears in the history books and it wasn't because of their cute and cuddly nature._

_As the party continued to carry on into the early evening, Cressida was enjoying herself even more so. It seemed like everything was perfect but then there came shouting from outside the music room, shortly followed by a loud explosion and the blast sent Cressida to the ground. The large double doors were blown apart and the wall that held them soon started to crumble and in came a guard of some sorts with swords raised. Cressida had no idea what was going on and before she could even ask what was going on, more people were pulling out swords and her own father moved so he was standing in front of her. But even then as she scrambled to her feet Cressida could see as the group of guards or soldiers, whatever they were parted and in walked three people. Two men with dark hair and eyes that almost looked dead black in appearance with cold and ashen expression on their faces. One of the men was older than the other one, who seemed to radiate a somewhat jaded youthfulness. But Cressida's attention soon drifted over to the woman with them, the woman who seemed to be the nightmare version of her mother._

_"Kill them. Kill them all."_

_It was Helena. It had to be her. There was nobody else who shared the same hazel eyes that her mother had except her. It was a family trait and the only other female relative who Cressida had on her mother's side was her Aunt Helena. But Helena's eyes weren't warm and welcoming like her mother's eyes, they were hard, intense and full of anger. Helena seemed to be a very twisted version of her mother and Cressida was shocked at what she saw as she looked at the woman with the matted black hair, who wore a snarl on her face and seemed to be the personification of evil. Before Cressida knew it fighting had started out with people engaging each other in sword fight. Cressida was frozen to the spot and could only stand and watch as the palaces guards arrived to help the fight. Things were moving so fast that Cressida had no real idea of what was going on until she heard screaming. A blood curling scream that sent shivers down her spine and at first Cressida didn't know where the scream was coming from until she realised it was coming from her. She was the one screaming because standing at her feet was her father's head. Cressida had just seen her father killed before her very eyes and now his head lay at her feet. Cressida managed to stop screaming to look at the person who had killed her father, it was the younger of the two men who seemed to be with Helena. It was Orsen. Aunt Helena's son and her cousin who was approaching her with a bloody blade and himself covered in blood. Cressida stumbled back a few steps and swept her hand in a dramatic manner but nothing happened. Orsen was still there. He was still coming towards her._

_"Is that all you've got cousin? Pathetic..." Orsen began in a tone of voice that was dripping with glee and Cressida could see that his eyes were lighting up. He was enjoying this. Cressida didn't know what to do as Orsen continued to approach her. She was frozen and unable to use her magic to defend herself. The magic that she had been freely practising since she was a child had failed her. Orsen had killed her father and was going to kill her too. That's what Cressida thought until a palace guard came out of nowhere and tackled Orsen to the ground._

_"Run princess!"_

_Cressida couldn't run, she couldn't do anything except stay frozen as she watched this bloody and horrific scene continue to unfold right in front of her. Her papa was dead as was so many others… Mama. Cressida's thoughts turned to her mother and furiously scanning the room, she saw her mother engaging in a sword fight with three soldiers. Cressida never knew her mother was such a warrior, handling herself perfectly fine against three trained soldiers, using a little magic to even up the fight._

_"Well if it isn't Goldilocks, she who would be queen and my little niece who is seemingly grown up for the most part."_

_"A-Aunt Helena..." Cressida managed to stammer out, managing to somehow to find her voice._

_"Indeed." Helena replied in a chilling tone of voice and Cressida watched as her aunt just looked at her in the most disgusting manner, until she became aware of somebody else, someone who was behind her. It was Cressida's mother Everly. "Well if it isn't my baby sister, the prodigal Everly... How nice to see you again sister, so glad that you could join this family reunion."_

_"Let Cressida go. She has nothing to do with is Helena."_

_"Nothing to do with her? You are planning to have her ascend the throne... My throne! The one that you stole from me!" Helena shrieked, her features becoming even more distorted with her increasing anger._

_"I took nothing from you Helena. You were unfit to become queen even before you failed the maze of wonders. Your failure to compete the maze was just the final confirmation that you were not meant to rule as queen. It is not my fault or Cressida's fault that you were removed from the line of succession and mother had me take the maze and I passed." Everly replied in a clam manner despite the horrors that were surrounding them._

_"You brought all of this upon yourself Everly, every drop of blood that my family and I, along with my supporters have spilt is on you. I am taking back my throne and I am going to make sure that I won't have any more of my relatives alive to stop me from taking back what rightfully belongs to me. Starting with that dumb doe eye daughter of yours who you call Goldilocks." Helena snarled and Cressida saw something deep within her mother's eyes harden._

_"You will not touch my child Helena." Everly defiantly stated and moments later, Cressida watched as her mother circled her aunt, until she had reached her. Everly protectively standing in front of her daughter and Cressida falling apart as the world that she knew was slowly falling apart around her. Before Cressida knew it, her mother and aunt were engaging each other in a duel involving no weapons. Just the magic that each of them had within them. It all seemed to flash right before Cressida's eyes before there was another blast. Cressida hadn't seen it coming, it knocked her off her feet and away. Scrambling back onto feet, Cressida couldn't catch sight of her mother until a figure in white dashed out in front of her, a whirl of the finest chiffon skirts and jet black hair. Before Cressida could even get one lungful of air, her mother grabbed her hand and started running out of the music room whilst everyone else as in haze of confusion because of the blast. Cressida ran hand in hand with her mother, their feet barely touching the ground as they ran through the halls of the palace. Time seemed to be a stand still as they ran, ran as hard and as fast as they could until they reached Everly's private rooms. They didn't stop running, they continued to run through several rooms until they reached the bathroom and Everly pulled Cressida to a large oversized mirror. It wasn't a looking glass mirror. It was a mirror used for transportation, that method of travelling was developed during the civil war twenty five years ago._

_"Mama..." Cressida sobbed, unable to help herself._

_"You have to run Cressida, ran as far as you can..." Everly began as she frantically ransacked drawers looking for something and it took Cressida a moment to realise that her and her mother weren't leaving together. She was being sent away all alone._

_"I can't mama." Cressida chocked out and her mother turned to her and placed her hands on either side of her daughter's face and forced Cressida to look at her._

_"Yes you can and you must. I can buy you a little time to get away before Helena figures out what I've done and comes looking for you. But you have to go Goldie, the queendom's survival depends on you, however you needed to run for now. Helena will come for you, she will hunt you down so she can kill you but I know that she does not have that power. No matter what my sister says, with my death you are the rightful heir to the throne and queen to this queendom. You have power that Helena can't even imagine. You keep the light in your heart and not even Helena, Bernard or Orsen can stop you Cressida."_

_"It's gone mama, my magic... It's gone." Cressida stated with tear filled eyes before watching her mother furiously shake her head._

_"No it's not gone for it can never be taken from you Cressida. It is all in your head. Remember that, no matter what happens it is all in your head and you will find the maze of wonders when you are truly ready to take the test. The maze is not what you think it is, it will test everything you have but you can do it Cressida. I know you can. Failure is not an option for you. No matter what happens, your father and I will always be with you dearest Goldie. Be the woman we know you to be..." Everly said with tear filled eyes as the palace rumbled because of another explosion and Cressida could hear yelling in the far distance. Helena was coming with the others. "You must go."_

_"I want to stay with you..." Cressida sobbed as her mother let go off her face before walking over to the mirror and placing her hand over it and soon enough ripples began to appear in the mirror. Everly walked back over to Cressida and took her daughter's hand, placing a small compact mirror in it before leading Cressida over to the mirror. _

_"I know you do, I love you Goldie."_

_"I love you too mama," Cressida replied and the words had barely time to react when her mother psyched her into the mirror and as she feel in, Cressida could see her mother on the otherside with tears in her eyes. Ready to smash the mirror and ready to die at the hands of her sister._

_"Goodbye Cressida, you are in my heart always..."_

* * *

Lucy Sommers yawned in a rather loud manner as she sat in her favourite booth at Granny's diner about to get started on what could easily be summarised as a months worth of work whilst having breakfast over at the diner. Despite knowing that breakfast was the most important meal of the day, Lucy was very much inclined to skip breakfast altogether as she was currently regretting her choice of first morning meal as she glanced down at the bowl of porridge in front of her. Lucy had no idea why on earth she had ordered porridge for breakfast as she detested porridge, didn't exactly know why she couldn't stand porridge but there was just something about it that she didn't like. Yet here it was right in front of her and Lucy didn't want to risk upsetting or even worse offend Granny or Ruby by sending it back so she was going to force herself to eat it and hope for the best. Lucy hoped that she could force herself to eat the porridge without throwing it back up otherwise it would make for a rather awkward encounter and she would never be able to show her face in town for a very long time. Picking up the spoon settled on the napkin beside her, Lucy wearily took a heard look at it before sticking it into the bowl of porridge in front of her and taking a spoonful of porridge. The moment the spoon was in her mouth Lucy wanted to spit it out as it was like she was eating lumpy cement. But Lucy was going to have to grin down and bare it as there was no way she was going to get all the work she had on her plate today done on an empty stomach. Lucy could barely cook, her finest dish was milk and cereal which wasn't exactly much, not to mention she had barely any food in her cupboards to begin with and she had too much work on her plate in order to take a break and go grocery shopping. Lucy had no idea what had come over her to order porridge but there was no point in dwelling on it for much longer. Putting the spoon back in the porridge, Lucy began idly playing with it until she was distracted by the sight of a talk, dark and handsome man sliding into her booth, taking the seat opposite her.

"Well if it isn't my favourite heiress, if I didn't know any better Ms. Sommers than I would suspect you of living here as the last time I saw you Lucy, you were sitting right here." Graham Humbert, town sheriff stated with a bright grin on his face and Lucy couldn't help but smile as she continued to aimlessly stir her porridge. Her seemingly boring day of checking numerous books for the business and making sure all the books were balanced were brightened up by the appearance of the sheriff and his Irish accent. Plus he wasn't too bad on the eyes. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your porridge?"

"I remember hearing something along the lines of not breaking into other people's house and making myself comfortable by eating their porridge and sleeping in their beds. I don't remember hearing anything about playing with my food, I must have missed that valuable lesson." Lucy quipped in response with a small grin as she traded her porridge for the cup of black coffee next to her.

"Busy day ahead?" Graham asked pointing to the small mountain of files that were sitting on the table beside her, to everyone else it would look like Lucy had brought her office to the diner with her. But it was far from that, back at her house Lucy had countless files of work related paperwork that took up more space than it was actually worth. Her actually home office was too small to handle all the paperwork that Lucy dealt with on a regular basis so she was currently in the middle of renovating half her house to expand the home office. Lucy had the crazy idea of doing it herself. Hence why she was working out of Granny's until the work was done, which would only happen when she had the time to finish off the renovations and given the amount of work she currently had on her plate, it wouldn't be for a while.

"Something like that and then some, it's not the half of it if you believe…" Lucy wearily noted motioning to all the paperwork that she had with her so far which didn't include the meeting that she had with Mr. Gold today. Lucy wasn't looking forward to that in the slightest but her dealings with the elusive Mr. Gold had been going back for as long as Lucy could remember. He was one of the main reasons why Lucy was always so busy.

"It must be so hard owning half the town princess." Graham stated feigning sympathy for Lucy's situation before helping himself to her porridge and Lucy said nothing off it, she motioned for Graham to eat his heart out as she wasn't eating the porridge anyway. Lucy made sure to ignore the comments about owning half the town, as Graham liked making the odd wise crack about the fact that Lucy's mother had owned a lot of Storybrooke and had been quite wealthy until she died. Graham also liked to call her princess which Lucy laughed off as she was no princess in the slightest as princess weren't accountants who were coffee addicts with numerous well publicized family problems. Princesses were young women who flounced around in pretty gowns and sang sweet songs like in the animated movies. They were not people like Lucy Sommers.

"Well unlike you Sheriff Graham, some of us actually have real work to do unlike somebody I know who can get away with sitting in their nice office, with their feet up and eating donuts to your hearts content and being a cop cliché. Besides none of this is do with any of my mother's businesses, our gracious mayor has asked me to find an extra $50,000 in the town's budget as soon as possible. Downside to being the only accountant in town." Lucy replied with a weary laugh.

"Can't sympathise with you there princess or lighten your work load but I do have something to make your day better." Graham began before pulling up a piece of paper from inside his jacket and passed it over the table to Lucy. "One restraining order as requested, it was dropped off at the station yesterday and I was going to drop it off at your place but something came up. "

"Thank you." Lucy replied in a quiet voice as she took the paper, opened it and briefly read the restraining order before putting it down. A part of Lucy couldn't really believe that things had come down to this, that one little piece of paper would keep her family away from her for the foreseeable future. Lucy couldn't help but take a deep breath and sigh as she ran her hands through her hair before placing them back down on the table.

"Your not happy? I thought this was what we wanted princess? I can't make them leave town but those relatives of yours have to stay at least 50ft away fro you at all times."

"No I am happy, this is what I wanted." Lucy replied with a small smile, not sure whether or not she really believed that or not. Things with her family were complicated, Lucy had been estranged with what little family she had left for countless years and it was no secret within Storybooke. Her issues with her family had been well publicized within this small town for as long as Lucy could remember and it never seemed like it was going to end. It was always one thing after the next with Lucy's family particularly with her cousin Orsen who seemed to be the worst of them all with a very bad temper. Things had escalated and most of the time it was pretty harmless until it got to the point where Lucy had reached the end of her tether with her remaining family and asked Graham for the restraining order.

"They come anywhere near you Lucy, you call me okay? That cousin of yours so much as looks at you then I want you to call me. Day or night it doesn't matter, keeping you safe is the only thing that matters to me." Graham stated, all jokes aside and being deadly seriously for once and Lucy nodded her head and forced a smile on her face. "Look, I probably shouldn't tell you this princess but I hate seeing you so sad, so I'm going to tell you something before it gets out to the whole town. You are not the only one currently having family problems as Henry Mills ran away last night and who should happen to bring him home? His biological mother."

"Regina must be thrilled." Lucy idly tossed out in a sarcastic manner, referring to the town mayor who could be pretty uptight at times. No doubt she hadn't been expecting Henry's biological mother to show up here in Storybrooke ten years down the line.

"In more ways than one since I had to arrest Emma for drinking under the influence last night, seems like Emma had a bit too much to drink at Regina's house last night that on her way out of town she crashed into the welcome sign. When I say Regina is thrilled, I mean she is actually thrilled by this new development." Graham explained with a small chuckle and Lucy couldn't help but laugh in amusement, it provided her with mild comfort to know that she wasn't the only one in town with family problems.

"How is it only now that I'm finding out about any of this?"

"Well I think it may have to do with the fact that unlike the rest of us you live in the woods princess instead of town." Graham pointed out and Lucy could afford to laugh. People found it weird that she didn't live in town and instead chose to live in a house that was just on the outskirts of the woods. Lucy couldn't really explain why, she had always loved the woods and found it so peaceful. There was no one there to disturb her and Lucy could come and go as she liked.

"That is great police work, Sheriff. I see my hard earned money is going to such good use on your salary. Keep up the good work Sheriff and I'll see if I can't find enough spare change in the budget to convince Regina to give you a clearly well deserved raise." Lucy sarcastically tossed out and Graham didn't seem to pick up on the sarcasm, if he did he chose to ignore it because the fake praise Lucy was sending his way.

"Speaking of my salary, I should probably head back to the station and go make a living, thanks for breakfast princess we should do this again sometime and next time I may finally get you to pay. You call me if you need anything, okay?" Graham stated as he rose and exited the both, placing a ten dollar bill on the table before giving Lucy a familiar grin and making his way out of the diner and Lucy couldn't help but watch him go, that was until Graham backtracked and made his way back. "Oh? I forgot to say this earlier but you had better keep out of trouble princess, I don't want find out that you've been breaking into houses and eating other people's morning porridge as I'd have to arrest ya as an officer of the law and I'd hate to do that to you princess. I don't think those golden locks of yours would survive a day in prison if I'm honest…"


	2. Chapter 2

_Everything was spinning. Cressida felt like she was going to be sick as it seemed like the spinning was never going to stop. Faster and faster she seemed to go, everything spinning faster and faster out of control until Cressida felt fresh air hitting her lungs and then the spinning stopped and Cressida landed to the ground with a thud and found herself face first in the forest ground. Mirror jumping was something that Cressida had never really managed to master all that gracefully and a small groan escaped Cressida's lips as she attempted to force herself up, with hands covered in blood and dirt. But Cressida couldn't get up, she was stuck on the ground as the grief and sorrow clawed at her stomach because of the horrors that she had witnessed firsthand. There had been so much blood, it had been like an endless sea of crimson liquid everywhere in the normally pristine music room. In Cressida's head she could still see the countless bodies, the screaming and yelling, the sound of sword fights and papa… Cressida could still see her father's head ring before her after he cousin Orsen had cut it off with his sword. Awkwardly crawling on the ground, Cressida managed to get to her feet, struggling to hold herself together after all the blood and carnage that she had witnessed but she managed to finally stand and she knew that she couldn't stay here. Cressida had to keep moving as no doubt her aunt would be looking for her. Cressida didn't know where she currently was, all she knew was that she was in the woods and it was dark so she had no real idea whether or now she was still in Wicerivia or else where but she had to keep moving. Cressida couldn't stay here, she had to run just like her mother told her, she needed to run as far away as she could to some place where Helena would never find her. Cressida attempted to start moving but her feet felt heavy and every time she tried to take a step, it was like she was stepping on some kind of sharp object. Glancing down at her feet, Cressida spotted the culprit; her heels that she had been wearing as part of her birthday outfit. These shoes were highly inappropriate at this current time and it explained why Cressida's feet were killing her. Bending down, Cressida fumbled around for a few moments as she attempted to undo her shoes and eventually she untied them and pulled them off her feet and felt the cold earth on her feet. Briefly looking at her now ruined white shoes, Cressida idly tossed them away to the side as she would no longer need them. No longer was there a need for Cressida to be dressed as if she was at a wonderful party as everything was lost, Wicerivia; the place she called home and her mother's queendom had been conquered and her parents were no doubt both lost._

_A cold chill in the air sent a shiver up Cressida's back and she couldn't help but look up into the night's sky and much to her horror she saw a blood moon. It was a sure enough sign that everything Cressida once knew had been lost and she was now forever alone in the world. The night sky was burning and the darkness was taking over everything. Furiously wiping at her eyes, Cressida knew she had to find some way to stop crying and figure out what she was now supposed to do. There was nobody here to help her and for the first time in her life Cressida had to figure things out for herself. Taking a few cautious step forward Cressida made an attempt to see if she could spot anything or anyone who might be able to tell her where she was but there was no one. Not a soul in sight. Things weren't good and all Cressida wanted to do was sit down and cry until it was no longer for her to cry a single tear anymore. Yet she couldn't do that. Cressida kept walking, ignoring the odd sensation in her feet as she walked freely in the dirt without any shoes on. The more Cressida walked, the more she realized that things weren't quite right as it was too quiet here. There was not a sound to be heard anywhere and it unnerved her greatly. Until she heard something loud behind her, the sound of something snapping and turning around Cressida couldn't see a thing behind her. There was nothing there or so Cressida thought until she could have sworn she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head just in time, Cressida was pretty certain that she had seen something or at least a shadow but it was wicked fast and damn near impossible for her to see and somewhat sinister._

_Cressida ran. She didn't know what else she could possible do, so she started running as fast as she could through the woods, holding her arms out in front of her so she could push past the many branches and leaves that got in her way. The more Cressida ran, the more chaotic things seemed to get as she could barely see in front of her as it was dark not to mention there were trees everywhere and Cressida was stumbling everywhere as she kept running and tried to avoid colliding with a tree. Cressida needed to get out of here, she needed to find somewhere safe but she didn't know what was safe anymore. Her home was gone, she was all alone and with no idea who she could trust if she ever came across anyone. She had to keep running just like her mother had told her to. But Cressida was exhausted, even before she had started running she had been tired and now she was really pushing her body to the limit, her legs were heavy and her muscles felt like they were burning. Everything ached and Cressida was so tired but she had to keep going. Cressida kept running, as fast and as hard as she could until she felt her foot collide with something and she fell to the ground. _

_"That looked like it hurt."_

_That was a voice. Cressida had heard it as clear as day. Someone had clearly spoken to her or rather about her and it wasn't a figment of Cressida's imagination. Someone was here and they were clearly addressing her. Lifting up her head from the face full of dirt it was currently in, Cressida looked up from the ground but she couldn't see anything. Spitting out some dirt that had unfortunately managed to get in her mouth, Cressida pulled herself up once again and she looked around but she couldn't see whoever had spoken to her. She was in some king of clearing in the woods but she wasn't exactly sure where she was. Turning herself around in a complete circle, Cressida couldn't see the person that had addressed her, which could only further fuel the possibility that Cressida had just imagined it. But Cressida wasn't buying that. It wasn't in her head, sure they were plenty of things in her head but she wasn't making this up. This hadn't been some product of her imagination. She had really heard someone._

_"Up here!"_

_It was the same voice again! Cressida was sure of it but the voice was coming from anywhere near here, in fact it sounded like it was coming up from way above her and daring herself to, Cressida looked up to the sky and saw the person that she had been unknowingly looking for. It was boy, he looked years younger than herself and wearing dark clothes but what really got Cressida's attention was the smirk on this boy's face not to mention that he was hovering a good five feet above her. He could fly. Cressida had never seen anything like it before in her life._

_"How are you doing that?" Cressida questioned as the boy slowly descended to the grown until he was standing right in front of her._

_"Anything is possible if you believe." The boy replied as he slowly began to walk, circling Cressida in a slow manner and looking her up and down as he did so. Cressida didn't really appreciate it but she said nothing as she wasn't sure what to do, running had brought her here to wherever the hell she was and she didn't have the strength nor the energy to continue running. "Well look what we have here… Little girl lost without a place to home, little girl all dressed up with nowhere to go and yet you end up here."_

_"Where exactly is here?" Cressida croaked out._

_"Neverland."_

_Cressida couldn't believe it. Neverland? It honestly couldn't be possible, she had heard tales of the land from her mother as a child, Cressida had grown up listening tales about a land where children never grew up and adults were not allowed to dwell. This land was completely different from all other lands as it wasn't governed by any sovereign, not it was governed by a boy. A single boy who was anything but ordinary, a boy who was extraordinary and all the stories Cressida heard had said this boy was a devilish rascal who did whatever he wanted, answered to no one and controlled Neverland, nothing happened without his say so. His name? Peter Pan._

_"It can't be…" Cressida stammered._

_"Oh it is and you have managed to land right here and it wasn't by any conventional means, I didn't bring you here and you didn't come through a portal or even a door. Great magic was used to bring you here, powerful magic it seems but I doubt it was by choice, not many adults come willingly to Neverland and yet here you are. Running brought you here and now there is nowhere for you to run. This is all so interesting, I don't think I've been excited about something like this is a very long time."_

_"What's so interesting?"_

_"You my dear. My friend the Shadow seems to think that you are quite the interesting creature, you with the heart of a child but the mind of a confused young woman. You're quite the special one Princess Cressida or should I brush all formalities to the side princess and just call you Goldilocks."_

_"Who are you? How do you know my name?" Cressida asked as she slowly backed away, she hadn't told this boy her name and yet he knew all her names. He knew that she was Cressida, he also knew her as Goldilocks and he knew that she was a princess who was running from something. How was that even possible? Something was quite right, something sinister was going on here and Cressida knew that she needed to get out of here. But she didn't' have the power to create a portal, her magic was gone, that much she was sure of and Cressida was certain that her mother had sent her through a one way mirror portal. To even attempt to return back home to Wicerivia required the use of magic Cressida didn't have and even then there were no guarantees. Cressida had ended up here because she did not know where she wanted to go when her mother pushed her into the mirror. To mirror jump required three things; magic, determination and destination and Cressida had neither, which explained how she ended up here._

_"The name's Pan. Peter Pan."_

_"Your Pan?!" Cressida demanded, somewhat in shock over this piece of her information. This wasn't the most shocking thing that had happened to her tonight but this was something that had taken her by surprise. She was currently with Peter Pan, the boy from all her mother's stories. He was quite different from what Cressida imagined, she had always imagined him with messy red hair and we wearing a tunic made out of leaves._

_"The pleasure is all mine your highness." Peter said with a smile and an exaggerated bow_

_"I-I can't be here… I j-just can't! I h-have to go back, I have to l-leave." Cressida stammered as she walked away, she had find someway of getting back to Wicerivia or least off Neverland and back to one of the other lands, perhaps to the lone islands where her mother's rule extended. The lone islands could be perhaps the last safe place Cressida could do to. But she had to figure how to get out of here in the first place, not once in her mother's numerous stories did she mention a way of getting out of Neverland._

_"You can't go back…" Peter called out and Cressida stopped walking and turned back to look at him._

_"I can't stay here. I have to go back and do what mama wanted me to do…" Cressida wearily said as she wiped at her eyes as the tears started to fall again, she couldn't start crying again because it wouldn't stop. She would end up passing out or something along those lines and Cressida couldn't have that, she had to keep moving like her mother had warned her. If she stayed still then Helena would come for her; the three bears would find Cressida and hunt her down until they killed her and had her head mounted on some wall for them to show off and boast about. Staying in Neverland wasn't an option. "T-They took e-everything, Helena and the others… E-Everything is gone, I-I have to go back, I h-have to stop them all… I h-have to take the maze to w-win."_

_"Ah yes! The maze of wonders, I've heard wonders about it… The legendary maze to test all those who would be Queens of Wicerivia and the lone island. They say that only those who the maze is intended for can enter and that each maze is different from the one before." Peter laughed and Cressida wasn't sure what to say, it seemed like Pan knew all the answers to everything. "Why? Who says you have to go? Who says you have to take some silly maze and fulfil some destiny and save the day? Here in Neverland you never have to do what your elders tell you. You don't have to worry about things like growing up and time means nothing here Goldilocks. We are our own masters here, my lost boys and I. It can be the same for you too, you can stay here. One girl is worth twenty boys especially the Crown Princess of Wicerivia and the lone islands. It's your choice Cressida, you can make the decision for yourself and do what you want. You can forget them Cressida, forget them all. You stay here and never have to worry about grown up things again. You can stay here and be safe, never having to worry about have to run and hide again."_

_"I have to go back." Cressida wearily replied and once the words came out of her mouth, she noticed something change in Pan. Gone was the nice and friendly smile, instead there was a dark and sinister look in Pan's eyes and Cressida knew things had gone from bad to worse. _

_"I really hoped that you would see things my way Cressida, I really hoped that you would make things a lot easier so I wouldn't have to force my hand but I'm afraid I can't let you go, I won't let you leave here." Pan said, his voice full of venom and Cressida was starting to realise that she had left one hell and entered another._

_"Why not?"_

_"Because I say so and what I say goes here and you are way too valuable for me to ever let you go. Welcome to Neverland Princess Goldie."_

* * *

The morning had been dragging on rather slowly and it seemed as each hour was like eternity especially when you were buried underneath a mountain of paperwork which never seemed to get any smaller. Lucy was drowning in more ways then one and all this paperwork had been making her incredibly miserable which is why Lucy had decided to take a well deserved break from all her work and go on a nice little walk through town. Hopefully this walk would do Lucy the world of good and allow her to clear her head enough so that when she got back to work, she would be able to get through the remainder of her work without it giving her a massive migraine. The crisp fresh air was sending a chill up Lucy's spine but it was a welcome feeling as it made her feel alive and that was something that Lucy hadn't felt in a while. Lucy had been at the docks for a fair while just idly standing around and watching the water, there was something about just watching the water splash about that relaxed Lucy and made her heart feel light. All the tension and the worry in her heart seemed to slip away and it allowed Lucy to take a break from her work which seemed to take over her life recently, there was always something that Lucy needed to take care of, always some account that she needed to look at, some papers that needed filing or a book that needed to be balanced. Her work had been taking over Lucy's life and as she stood here Lucy realised she needed to take a break as if she wasn't careful then one of these days it would consume and she couldn't have that happen. There had to be more to life than just working, right? Things like falling in love and having a family. Speaking of families, Lucy opened her jacket over so slightly and reached inside and grabbed a piece of paper from inside her jacket pocket. This wasn't any random piece of paper, it was the restraining order that Graham had given her earlier which she had briefly glanced over at the time but now Lucy was taking a proper look at the piece of paper that would keep her family away from her. It was a sad in Lucy's life when she had to take out a restraining order against her own family for her own protection, but that was the way things were. Lucy's own remaining family; her aunt, uncle and cousin were trouble to put it slightly. Things tended to be complicated with family but when you put money in the mix, things got a lot more complicated and that's where Lucy was currently at with her family, well specifically just her cousin Orsen. Lucy's aunt and uncle didn't give her much trouble these days, they were basically shut ins in their own home these days but their son was the one making the fireworks, it was his constant harassment that led Lucy to get this restraining order.

Glancing at the restraining order in her hands, Lucy couldn't help but wonder what her parents would think if they could see all of this. No doubt it would break her mother's heart if she could see how things were with their remaining family. But there was nothing Lucy could do to change any of this, what was done was done and Lucy just had to deal with the consequences no matter how bad things would get. Putting the restraining order back in her pocket, Lucy walked away from the docks and started to idly walk through town again. Things with her family were so bad that Lucy had thought about leaving Storybrooke and moving to somewhere new and starting afresh. If she moved then Lucy thought that life could be a lot easier, no longer having to look over her shoulder and triple checking that her windows were shut and all the locks on her door were working properly and her door were shut so tightly that nothing could get in and out of her home. Lucy knew that it wasn't a good thing that she was living in fear and she knew that moving would probably be for the best but she couldn't bring herself to leave. Storybrooke was her home, Lucy loved every nook and cranny of this small town and like Graham had said, she owned almost half the town and if she left then it would cause a lot of people trouble. Not to mention there were people here who Lucy cared about like Graham for example. Lucy couldn't just leave those people behind, regardless of her family issues.

Twenty minutes later into her walk, Lucy walked past the wooden castle that had been built for the children to play with on the beach and much to her surprise she saw that the castle was currently occupied by none other than Henry Mills; the mayor's son who had run away last night only to return with his biological mother. It was no secret in town that Henry was adopted and Lucy knew the boy quite well, they had shared a booth at Granny's plenty of times and Lucy occasionally babysat him if his mother Regina needed a babysitter. Lucy was quite surprised to see Henry here of all places as school was currently in session and given that Henry was only ten, he was supposed to be at school right now. Something must have been bothering Henry for him to be here and Lucy knew that she couldn't just leave him here, so Lucy walked over to the castle and Henry quickly spotted her.

"Hello Henry." Lucy warmly greeted with a warm smile and a friendly wave.

"Hi Lucy."

"I heard you had quite the adventure yesterday, running away? How mightily impressive Little One. I'm glad to see that you came home safe and sound and with a new friend from what I hear. I didn't know that you wanted to find your biological mother, so where did you find her? Emma I believe her name is." Lucy said in an easy going manner as she knew that Henry had probably got an earful from his mother about him running away and Lucy saw no point in lecturing Henry about how dangerous his actions were yesterday, she wasn't his mother but rather his friend. Lucy figured that Henry didn't need a lecture but rather someone to talk to.

"My mom doesn't love me, she never has, she just wants everyone to think that because she's the mayor and she had a reputation to keep up. You don't know what it's like Lucy, my mom pretends that she loves me but she doesn't. So I thought I would go look for my real mom and I didn't tell you or anyone else as I thought that you would talk me out of it Lucy. I found Emma in Boston so I went there yesterday and she brought me back." Henry wearily said with a small shrug of his shoulders.

"Your mother loves you Henry, I know that Regina isn't exactly the warmest person in the world but I believe that she loves you very much and deep down you must know that as she's taken care of you all your life. But I understand that there is a need to understand where you came from, being adopted much bring up a lot of questions and it's only natural that you would want to know who your biological mother is." Lucy replied in a reassuring tone as even though she wasn't adopted, she could understand the urge to know more about where she came from and information about her parents. Lucy's recollections of her own parents were fuzzy to say the least and she quite often wondered what her parents would think of the woman that she had become. She would never know since her parents were gone.

"Have you ever thought about doing it? Running away." Henry questioned and Lucy pursed her lips as that was an interesting question, it was sort of similar to Lucy debating moving away. If she left Storybrooke, it really meant that she was running away from her life and the problems in it i.e. her family and she wasn't sure she could do it.

"If I tell you, will you keep it between the two of us? You won't tell anyone else?" Lucy questioned

"I promise."

"Yes. I have thought about giving it all up and running away to start over in a different city and become someone else entirely but I just can't bring myself to do it. I'm too much of a coward and that leaving would mean saying goodbye to the ones I care about the most here in Storybrooke like you and I just couldn't do that. I'd miss you too much Henry." Lucy quipped with a forced laugh as even though she meant every word that she said, a part of her felt like a liar. She would never run away, she would never be able to bring herself to do it.

"Lucy can I ask you something?" Henry questioned and Lucy slowly nodded her head. "Do you believe in fairy tales? Do you think that they could real?"

"Sure I guess… What little girl doesn't dream of being a princess, attending balls in fancy gowns and falling in love with a handsome prince and living happily ever after? There's something nice about all of that I'll admit as who doesn't want to have a happy ending? I love fairy tales, I think that they are so much more than books containing stories. I believe that fairy tales contain great power as they can teach us right from wrong, they teach us strong moral character and how good will always triumph evil no matter how adverse things are. They teach us to believe and if you believe enough then I believe that anything is possible. So yes, I believe in fairy tales but why do you ask?"

"Never mind…" Henry quickly muttered and Lucy was at a loss for why Henry had suddenly gone quiet until she looked up and saw who was approaching them. It was a blonde woman who Lucy hadn't seen before, someone who wasn't a resident of Storybrooke as Lucy pretty much knew everyone in this town since she was the only accountant in town who also happened to own half the town. This woman must be the birth mother that Lucy was hearing so much about.

"So is that Emma, huh?" Lucy asked and Henry nodded his head.

"Yeah that's her."

"Well then I guess I should leave you two to it then as I'm sure Emma wants to have a word with you and I'm guessing you might have to answer some questions about why your not in school Henry but I'll see you around. If you want to hang out then just give me a call, okay? You know I always have time for you." Lucy offered in a cheerful manner.

"Bye Lucy."

"See you later Henry." Lucy replied as she walked away from the toy castle and as she walked past the somewhat infamous Emma, Lucy bowed her head ever so slightly and offered a small smile as she walked past. Glancing at her watch, Lucy couldn't help but grimace as she knew that she tried to waste as much time as she could but now she really needed to get back on the cloak and get back to her rather busy day. It seemed like there was no rest for the wicked and Lucy knew that she had a wicked long pile of work that was waiting for her and it wasn't going anywhere any time soon or getting any smaller. Days like this made Lucy hate the fact that she was employed and wish she had been like any other heiress and spent her days doing nothing, living in luxury and not have worry about being responsible because she had a job.

A cold shiver went down Lucy's spine as she slowly walked down Main St. and with her free hand she couldn't help but pull her coat in tighter as given the recent shift in the weather, it was going to get a lot colder round here and already she was feeling it. Yet it was too cold to snow as someone once told Lucy although she could never recall who had told her that. Lucy didn't much like the cold, she found herself rather sensitive to it and prone to catching colds despite the fact that she loved the outdoors. However when it started to get cold Lucy liked to hole herself up indoors and enjoy a nice hot drink however, she doubted Mr. Gold would be inclined to reschedule their meeting simply because Lucy wanted to back and sit in Granny's for a while after spending so long out doors. Lucy very much longed for the warmth and familiarity of Granny's diner but she knew that she needed to go to Mr. Gold's shop. Lucy could have drove but it seemed far too lazy of her to drive for this simple meeting so instead she walked the short cold distance and as she walked, Lucy couldn't help but wonder what on earth this meeting could possible be about. This certainly wasn't the first meeting that Lucy had with Mr. Gold and wasn't going to be the last but this meeting was different, it wasn't about finances or bookkeeping something of a more personal nature. Lucy wasn't exactly sure what that meant but that was what Mr. Gold has said when he called Lucy on the phone to arrange this meeting. Lucy was very intrigued by this as she had no clue what personal business Mr. Gold wanted to discuss with her as their relationship was purely a business one at that, one that Lucy was happy to keep that way as Mr. Gold was a tricky character and a bit shady, however he seemed harmless enough compared to other people Lucy knew. Eventually Lucy reached her destination; Mr. Gold Pawnbroker &amp; Antiquities Dealer and she stood outside the small shop for a few moments before she took a deep breath, opened the door to the store and walked in.

Upon walking into the store a small bell chimed no doubt to alert Mr. Gold to the fact that someone had arrived in the store, Lucy couldn't see him but since the door to the shop was opened, she assumed he was round somewhere, probably in the back. Whilst she waited for Mr. Gold to come out from wherever he was Lucy decided to take a look round the shop, she had been in the shop more times than she had actually remembered but usually it was for business matters and as such she never got a chance to look around. Until now. All around weere these trinkets that were of amazing quality and it was clear that Mr. Gold had a very refined and good taste, it was apparent to Lucy that he must be well travelled in order to acquire some of the items he had in the store. Lucy was slightly jealous of all the fine things that she was seeing here as she didn't own anything of such quality. She was a rather simple person and had nothing in her possession that was of any real value. Except numerous properties but it wasn't like she would wear them.

"Ah! Ms. Sommers, you made it!"

Looking up from where she was standing and admiring the items in the store, Lucy saw an older gentleman with shoulder length dark hair, dressed in a fine quality suit and walking with a cane make his way from out the back of the store. It was of course the ever elusive Mr. Gold who was not only just a pawnbroker but an attorney, he also owned a fair bit of the town as well. Between him and Lucy, they owned pretty much most of Storybrooke. They were worked rather closely with each other on occasion and yet they were not on first name basis. "Mr. Gold how many times have I told you to call me Lucy?"

"Once more as always." Mr. Gold replied and Lucy let out a small smile before deciding to move on from the whole name thing. There was a reason why Mr. Gold wanted her to meet him here and Lucy wanted to know the reason why.

"Forgive me for being so blunt Mr. Gold but I believe that you wanted me to come here for a personal reason? I have to admit that I am at a loss for what those reasons are." Lucy began in a rather polite manner as she did have several other errands to be running today along with a mountain of paperwork that was currently sitting in her bag, weighing her down.

"Of course Ms. Sommers, I understand that you are a very busy woman. So if you'll come here we'll get straight down to business." Mr. Gold stated and Lucy slowly walked across the shop, over to the glass display case that Mr. Gold was standing behind. Wordlessly Mr. Gold unlocked the cabinet and pulled out an item before placing it on the cabinet and pushing it towards Lucy who carefully picked it up. The item in question was a round ornate jewellery box, gold in colour and very intricate in design. The body of the box had a floral wreath around it and as Lucy examined it, she noticed that there were bears on the box. Three of them along with a girl. It was a very odd design, nothing like Lucy had ever seen before

"It's beautiful."

"Exquisite piece I agree Ms. Sommers, but you should really take a look inside…" Mr. Gold instructed and Lucy looked at him briefly before turning her attention to the small box in her and carefully placed the box on the display case and took off the lid. Inside the box was covered with a purple fabric but that wasn't what caught Lucy's attention. Something gold, that was sitting in one of the corners of the jewellery box and picking it up, Lucy saw that it was a locket. An old heart shaped locket that looked like it hadn't seen the light of day in years. It had looked like it had seen better days. Turning the locket over in her hands Lucy found that there was an inscription on it. _Forever yours._ No doubt this was given to someone by somebody who cared about them very much. But it seemed awfully familiar to Lucy for some reason, which she couldn't explain. Lucy wasn't one for jewellery at the best of times yet she felt this weird connection to this necklace. "The piece has survived many ordeals and yet it has retained it's beauty, not even a thousand wars could destroy this locket. I figured that it was time that it was finally returned to you."

"Returned to me?" Lucy asked she wasn't expecting Mr. Gold to come out with something like that. Although the locket seemed awfully familiar to her Lucy was sure it didn't belong to her as she wasn't one for jewellery. She owned a couple of watches and a few earrings at most. Then there were her mother's pearls but that was it.

"Yes."

"Are you sure Mr. Gold?"

"I am. If I am correct which I believe I am, this was given to you by your parents not long before they died. It ended up in my possession and I figured now would be the most appropriate time to return them to you." Mr. Gold explain and Lucy dumbly nodded her as she swallowed a lump in her throat as her memories were hazy at best of her parents death. All Lucy really knew was that after her parents died, all the problems with the rest of her family got 10 times worse. Just thinking about her family, her parents being gone and the rest of her family were a nightmare that Lucy was tying so hard to escape from. Feeling her emotions were getting the best of her, Lucy thanked Mr. Gold for giving her the locket before excusing herself and taking the locket as well as the jewellery box with her placing them gently in her bag. Lucy knew that there was no point in her even beginning to attempt to do work as she wouldn't be able to concentrate, not after her parents had been brought up so Lucy decided to walk around town for a bit and clear her head. This day was turning out to be getting increasingly stressful and it was way too early for her to even consider having a drink. As Lucy slowly walked through the somewhat sleepy town of Storybrooke she soon felt like she was being watched. But every time she stopped in her step and turned around to check if anyone was there behind her, there was no one. Lucy couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, Main St. was open but not bustling with business, Lucy caught sight of a few people but they all seemed preoccupied with their own business to give her a second thought or a second glance. Lucy was fast becoming convinced that she was imaging this whole thing, it was all in her head. No doubt stress related because of everything that was going on with her family. No doubt it was the whole restraining order business that was messing with her head.

Lucy carried on walking, debating in her head whether or not it was worth going to the docks and hoping standing by the fresh sea air would clear head when she felt something grab her from behind. A cold hand was clamped down over her mouth and Lucy was unable to scream in terror as she was dragged down an alleyway and pushed up against the side of a building. Her mind was racing and the fear was clawing at her, so much so that it took Lucy a few moments to realize that she knew her attacker. She recognized his dark hair, the dark eyes that seemed completely black and the youthful face that made him look like angel despite his rather his grim demeanour. It was her cousin Orsen or Baby Bear as Graham often referred to him as.

"I knew you were crazy Lucy but I didn't think that you were downright stupid!" Orsen hissed in an angry tone of voice as he moved his right hand away from Lucy's mouth. But he moved it so it was around her neck and Lucy knew there was no way that she could scream. If she screamed Orsen would get more angry and things would get much worse. The last thing she wanted to do was make him angrier.

"W-What are you talking about?" Lucy stammered, stumbling over her words despite her best efforts to remain calm. Her heart felt like it was about to leap out of her chest and she wanted to run away. She didn't want to be here, she wanted to be back in the safe confines of her house. Even though Orsen was her family, Lucy hated him and she had been terrified of him for as long as she could remember. Orsen was a bully, a thug who wasn't above using violence to get what he wanted. It was why she had to get Graham involved.

"This! A restraining order? Do you really think that some stupid piece of paper is going to stop me from getting what I deserve! What you and your parents stole from my family! Everything you have belongs to us; belongs to my mother and I'm not going to stop until you give it up! All the money, the properties and land, they belong to us and not you!" Orsen replied in a harsh tone of voice as he pulled out a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and started waving it about.

"I-I didn't steal anything… T-They are rightfully mine." Lucy uttered as everything she had did belong to her, she inherited to them, just like her mother inherited everything before it was passed down to her. There had been a reason why Lucy's mother has inherited the bulk of the family estate over her older sister Helena. Lucy didn't know the exact reason, all she knew was that her Aunt Helena had been cut off for a good reason and she nor her husband or son were to get their hands on anything.

"You insolent little gril! You actually think that you deserve all of it! I am going to make you pay for this Lucy, if it's the last thing I do. I'm going to make you regret all of this! When I'm done with you Lucy, you're going to be begging for me to kill you and this piece of paper isn't going to stop me from getting what is rightfully mine!" Orsen seethed in anger and Lucy knew things were escalating, she could see that her cousin had been pushed over the edge by the restraining order and Lucy knew that she needed to get away from him before Orsen did something to her that he wouldn't regret. Lucy struggled to break free from Orsen's grasp, he had about 40lbs over her. Lucy could have sworn that she was starting to see stars in her eyes and things were starting to get hazy before hearing a noise in the distant and before she knew what was happening, Lucy felt a hard impact to her face before she fell to the ground. Things were a bit hazy for a moment but when Lucy finally managed to refocus she noticed that she was on the ground and a woman with long blonde hair wearing a red leather jacket was making her way over. It was the woman from earlier, Henry's biological mother Emma.

"Hey! Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah I'm fine." Lucy weakly replied trying her hardest to sound okay but she was struggling to pull herself together let alone string a believable lie together. She had never expected for Orsen to react like that about the restraining order, it made Lucy wonder how her Aunt Helena and Uncle Bernard were taking the news. Judging by how Orsen took the news, Mama and Papa Bear were probably not taking the news all too well either.

"Look I don't know you but I know you are not fine because you have a busted lip and I just saw some guy with his hands round your neck before running out this alley and it's safe to assume that guy is responsible for your busted lip. You need to report this to the Sheriff…"

"I'm sure that the Sheriff has better things to be doing with his time then be trying to comfort a wailing woman and I dare to think of what Graham will have to say about this but I appreciate the advice and help, it's Emma right? Emma Swan?" Lucy asked in an attempt to move things along from her situation, pursing her lips in the process and tasting her own blood in the process. Lucy watched as Emma stared at her in mild bewilderment as the two of them had never met but yet Lucy knew who she was. Lucy caught sight of her bag which was laying from the ground and upon picking it up, she plucked out her copy of this morning's Daily Mirror which read _Stranger destroys historic sign _followed by a picture of Emma's mug shot. Lucy had read the paper in Granny's this morning before she had taken her extended break to clear her head.

"Ahh!" Emma slowly replied in an awkward manner.

"Yeah in a small town like this word spreads quickly, by breakfast time I had already heard that Henry's biological mother had turned up in town and was causing quite the upset before I even read the morning paper. Oh and I'm Lucy by the way, Lucy Sommers." Lucy explained as she slowly shuffled out of the alleyway and back onto Main Street, quickly followed by Emma. "Don't worry though, it'll all blow over soon enough once the next piece of gossip is revealed. Trust me in a couple of days everyone will have forgotten about the incident with the sign."

"You so sure about that?" Emma sceptically asked.

"Positive. Soon enough the town is going to find out that I had my family served with restraining order today and when they see this busted lip, it won't take them long to figure out that it was my cousin who gave it to me. Last time it was a black eye and a busted rib, this time it's a busted lip." Lucy wearily laughed as she dug around in her pocket for a handkerchief, all the while noticing the look Emma was giving her from the corner of her eye.

"That guy was your cousin?"

"Yeah… As you can tell Orsen was not pleased about the restraining order. I knew something like this was going to happen when Graham brought it up but I still agreed to go along with it once he talked me into it. Now my family are literally out for my blood in more ways than one." Lucy quietly replied as she pressed her handkerchief against her lips.

"Why? If you don't mind me asking?" Emma questioned.

"No not really. Everyone here knows my situation, I come from a wealthy family on my mother's side and before I was born, my mother and her elder sister had this huge falling out. Instead of my aunt inheriting most of the family estate, my grandmother cut her out of her will and gave everything to my mother. Naturally my aunt is pissed about that, demanding she get what's her. Especially when everything was passed down to me, my aunt and her family want it all. They won't leave here until they what they think they deserve and I can't leave town and things have got to the point where I needed to get the restraining orders. I know I should probably go to the Sheriff but if I do, they'll just deny it like they always do and things won't go any further than that so there's no point in wasting my time really… Families, eh? Who knew they could be so complicated?" Lucy stated, forcing herself to laugh at the end of the sentence.

"Are you sure your okay?"

"I have to be, I have no choice in the matter… I have to run now, gotta take care of this lip and get back to work but it was nice to meet you Emma and hopefully I'll see you around soon." Lucy replied with a weak smile before walking away, Lucy walked until she felt like no one was watching her and once she was certain she was out of sigh she ducked behind two trees and her legs instantly gave out. They had turned to jelly and Lucy just dropped straight to the ground and was struggling to catch her breath. Going through her bag in a manic state Lucy eventually found her compact and opening it up, she took a look at her reflection. Emma was right about her lip, it had been practically been split open and her neck was quite red from all the pressure Orsen had put on it. Closing her eyes briefly Lucy prayed to god that someday this would all stop and she would get some kind of happy ending before Orsen decided he really was going to kill her.


End file.
